The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
In conventional database systems, users access their data resources in one logical database. A user of such a conventional system typically retrieves data from and stores data on the system using the user's own systems. A user system might remotely access one of a plurality of server systems that might in turn access the database system. Data retrieval from the system might include the issuance of a query from the user system to the database system. The database system might process the request for information received in the query and send to the user system information relevant to the request.
There is often a desire to develop various applications for extending capabilities of the aforementioned database systems. To date, however, such applications have typically been developed in an uncontrolled environment. For example, developers conventionally dictate the development of such applications, leaving the database system service with less control. This, in turn, may lead to various shortcomings in the development process, etc. For instance, various development best practices (e.g. with respect to testing, resource allocation, etc) may not necessarily be enforced, since they are under the control of the developer.